Easier Indian Visas for (Some) Pakistanis in Love

Indians and Pakistanis marrying and moving to each other’s countries often get caught up in bureaucratic red-tape spun due to political friction between the two nations. But a new directive from India’s Ministry of Home Affairs aims to make cross-border love a little easier.

Some Pakistani citizens who have immigrated to India but don’t hold valid Pakistan passports may be granted long-term visa extensions under the new rules, allowing them to apply for Indian citizenship. A number of Pakistanis whose parents emigrated from India in 1947 have returned in recent years to be with extended family and ended up marrying here.

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Indian tennis star Sania Mirza married Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik in April. Ms. Mirza said the two planned to live in Dubai.

But many of those Pakistanis, often from poor backgrounds, have been unable to get their visas extended and apply for Indian citizenship because their Pakistan passports have lapsed while they were resident in India. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, many of the poorer citizens don’t possess valid Pakistan identity cards, meaning they can’t get their passports renewed at Pakistan’s High Commission in Delhi. Attempts to reach the Pakistan mission were unsuccessful.

Pakistan-India unions are largely treated with distrust by citizens of both nations as shown by a recent media brouhaha over the wedding of Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik. The move by India is unilateral and has no impact on Indian citizens looking to marry or settle in Pakistan (sorry, Sania).

Still, the directive may remove a possible diplomatic roadblock between India and Pakistan by allowing Pakistani citizens in official limbo to continue with the process of becoming Indians. The ministry says the rules will extend to Pakistani women whose parents emigrated after Partition, leaving family behind in India. Some of these women have returned to India in recent years to be with family and have settled down.

Hindus and Sikhs who remained in Pakistan after 1947 but have since moved to India will also be able to apply for visa extensions even if their Pakistani passports are invalid, as will Indian women who married Pakistanis but later returned after divorce or becoming widowed.

Pakistani men originally from Indian Muslim communities who have returned and are living in the southern Indian state of Kerala will also benefit from the new rules, the ministry said.

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